Personnel working on fuel lines for V-2 at Launch Complex 33
RG93_102_031.pdf
Information
Collection name
Rio Grande Historical Collections Photographs, 1885-1950s
Date
circa 1946
Decade
1940s
Subject (LCSH)
V-2 rocket
Soldiers
Rockets (Aeronautics)
Liquid fuels
Launch Complex 33 Historic Site (N.M.)
White Sands Proving Ground (N.M.)
Historical context
The White Sands Proving Ground (WSPG) was established in July 9, 1945 and renamed White Sands Missile Range (WSMR) in 1958. The world's first atomic bomb was detonated at Trinity Site, at the north end of WSPG, July 16, 1945. The military range served as a principal location for testing rocket technology following World War II, including V-2 rockets brought from Germany at the end of the war. WSMR is known as the birthplace of missile and space activity in the United States. The images in the collection depict WSMR views, V-2 rocket tests, Trinity Site, the old mining site of Estey City (located on the range), and personnel affiliated with operations at WSPG during the mid-1940s. The photographs were donated by the WSMR Public Affairs Office
Provenance
White Sands Missile Range, Public Affairs Office
Extent
Size original: 10 x 8 in.
Notes
One of the great innovations that the Germans applied to rocketry was an effective pumping system to push large volumes of oxidizer (liquid oxygen) and fuel (alcohol) into the combustion chamber
The turbine pump was turned by steam generated during a chemical reaction when sodium permanganate and hydrogen peroxide where combined in a pressure chamber
The men are loading these two chemicals into the rocket
Note on verso: "Personnel working on fuel lines for V-2 at LC-33, WSPG, N.M."
Digital publisher
New Mexico State University Library
Source
NMSU Library Archives and Special Collections
Source collection name: White Sands Missile Range Photographs, 1905-1950s